Ever-growing pressure to control escalating costs of hospitalization has caused even the lowly hospital laundry bag to come under scrutiny. Such factors as first cost, bag capacity, handling efficiency, wear resistance, and ability to withstand rough handling without tearing or splitting (even after repeated washing of the bag itself) all enter into the cost picture. Considering the great frequency with which towels, bed linens, wearing apparel, and other fabric items are changed and laundered in routine hospital operations, necessitating the maintenance of a large inventory of laundry bags which are used over and over again, small differences in the above-mentioned cost factors can have significant economic impact. Evidencing this fact, knowledgeable purchasers of hospital supplies have established detailed specifications for such bags with the objective of achieving maximum performance at the least possible cost.
Among the bags meeting existing specifications is a commercial product similar to the prior art bag disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,789,610, to R. J. Pritchard. Such bags include a flap, stitched to the sides of the bag, which acts as a combined bag closure and support band. When the bag is open, the flap forms a pocket with a downwardly directed mouth which can be slipped over the back of a chair to support the bag. When this pocket is pushed inside out and slipped over the top opening of the bag itself, it serves as a closure, protecting the bag contents from loss and further soiling.
Heretofore, there has been a problem of tearing of this flap, or of the stitching which secures it to the side seams of the bag. To provide adequate strength in the face of rough handling, gussets have been cut out and sewn between the lower edge of the flap and the side seams of the bag. This measure contributes significantly to the construction costs of these bags. Nevertheless, the use of such gussets has generally been accepted heretofore as an important factor in achieving adequate resistance against destruction of the bags by rough handling.